The Government has committed a $6 million investment towards a wider initiative it describes as “the biggest step in a generation” to restore the health of the Hauraki Gulf.
The funding was part of a wider $26 million package combining public and private investment aimed at rejuvenating the marine environment, creating jobs, and strengthening connections between people and place.
Conservation Minister Tama Potaka said the Hauraki Gulf was one of New Zealand’s great taonga and for too long had been under pressure from pollution, sediment, and overuse.
“We’re taking practical steps to rejuvenate it, for our children, our kaimoana, and our communities. It supports tourism, hospitality, fishing, and recreation. When the Gulf is healthy, so are our people and our economy.”
Around $6m from the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy would be used to upgrade infrastructure on Hauraki Gulf islands such as Rangitoto Tiritiri Matangi and Kawau.
Potaka said the islands welcomed more than 150,000 visitors each year.
“Safer wharves, better walking tracks, and improved water systems will make it easier for families, schools, and tour operators to enjoy these special places, and ensure visitors leave them better than they found them.”
The investment supported the newly passed Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Act, which establishes 19 new marine protected areas: 12 high protection zones, five seafloor protection areas, and two extended marine reserves.
The largest expansion of marine protection in more than a decade, it came into force over Labour Weekend.
New law triples size of protected areas, expands marine reserves, and introduces high-protection zones to help restore life to the struggling Gulf. (Source: 1News)
Alongside the contribution from the Government, the NEXT Foundation would lead a philanthropic programme investing up to $20 million over five years in reef restoration.
Divers and marine experts will remove urchins from damaged reefs to allow kelp forests to regenerate, bringing back fish, crayfish and shellfish.
The first $2 million from the NEXT Foundation would support pilot projects around Te Hauturu-o-Toi / Little Barrier Island, the Noises, and a research programme at Motutapu, in partnership with mana whenua, the University of Auckland, and the Department of Conservation.
Potaka said within a couple of years the reefs would be teeming with life again.
“This Act and the investment behind it are about kaitiakitanga in action, looking after our environment so it can look after us.”
Potaka said the Gulf contributed more than $5 billion to New Zealand’s economy each year, supporting jobs in tourism, hospitality, fishing, and recreation.
“When the Gulf thrives, our people thrive. It’s that simple.”
